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The British Journal of Criminology 33:33-56 (1993)
© 1993 Centre for Crime & Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)

RESEARCH-ARTICLE

FEAR OF CRIME: READ ALL ABOUT IT?

The Relationship between Newspaper Crime Reporting and Fear of Crime

PAUL WILLIAMS* and JULIE DICKINSON**

* Sussex Police, Malling House Lewes, East Sussex
** Department of Occupational Psychology, Birkbeck College Malet Street, London WCIE 7HX

This article reports a three-stage study of the relationship between newspaper reporting of crime and fear of crime. The first stage measured the amount of space and prominence given to crime, particularly violent crime, in ten British daily newspapers. The second stage of the study was a questionnaire survey of the relationship between newspaper reporting of crime and fear of crime. A significant positive correlation was found which appeared to be independent of demographic factors associated with readership. The third stage examined qualitative aspects of reporting styles in these newspapers. Consistent differences were found between newspapers. Those newspapers classified as ‘broadsheets’ carried proportionally fewer crime reports and reported crimes in a less sensational fashion than the ‘tabloids’, particularly low-market ones.


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